Supply Always Comes On The Heels Of Demand
by theywillneverknow
Summary: Pepperony one-shot. Tony remembers Pepper's birthday. "Yeah, you know, celebrating the day you were born? It's a traditional celebration here in the West where presents are bought and cakes are baked-" "You baked me a cake?"


**Title: **Supply Always Comes On The Heels Of Demand

**Author:** firstflier  
**Rating:** PG-13

**Length:** 1,239 words

**Summary: **_"Yeah, you know, celebrating the day you were born? It's a traditional celebration here in the West where presents are bought and cakes are baked-" "You baked me a cake?"_

**Author's Note: **For the 'Dash of Pepper' challenge. Not really sure what plot bunnies were bouncing around for this one!

Supply Always Comes On The Heels Of Demand

When Tony suggests (or rather _announces_) that he needs to go shoe shopping Pepper immediately wonders how he ruined his last pair of Italian shoes because that's the only reason he would be willing to shoe shop. Pepper's Blackberry has been buzzing and pinging all morning so she doesn't even register that she's climbing (being _pushed)_ into the passenger seat of Tony's Rolls Royce until she hears the purr of the engine. She jumps with a startled gasp and finally focuses on something other than her PDA.

"What are you doing?" She demands of Tony.

"I want to go shopping and Happy's got the day off. Something wrong, Miss Potts?"

_Yes, _she wants to say, _I'm sitting in a car with Tony Stark in the driver's seat and I haven't got my seatbelt wrapped around me several times. _Instead she replies with a rather demure "Nothing, Mr Stark."

"Good." And then they're off. Tony speeds out of the garage and screams off down the road but Pepper finds that, if she ignores the noise, the ride isn't that much different from Happy driving her around; it's all fluid turns and almost seamless gear changes. It isn't that she hasn't seen Tony drive like this before it's just that, normally, he doesn't want to. Normally he wants to feel the hard tarmac of the road and lean into each corner with just a little more speed than necessary. So she isn't overly surprised when they over take two minivans on a blind corner.

She _is_ surprised when he pulls to a stop and they are parked outside a little boutique store she found several months ago and instantly fell in love with. Wondering what Tony's up to and actually questioning him about it are two very different things so she follows him into the store without complaint but there is a frown tugging at her eyebrows.

"Pick any pair you like."

"What?" She turns to look at him like he's mental.

"Well, I figured I'd give your birthday present the Stark stamp of approval _before _purchase as oppose to the customary viewing of the gift _after _you've bought it with my card." The disarming grin he throws her way makes her knees weak.

"My...my birthday present?" She's confused and stammering and completely baffled by this turn of events.

"Yeah, you know, celebrating the day you were born? It's a traditional celebration here in the West where presents are bought and cakes are baked-"

"You baked me a cake?"

"-and loved ones generally gather. You know how it goes." His response is nonchalant but there's a hint of a Cheshire cat grin lurking at the corner of his lips at having caught her by surprise. The unflappable Pepper Potts has been, well and truly, flapped.

"And you're...you're buying me shoes?" Her eyes light up like a kid in a candy store but she's wary that he might snatch this away from her at any given moment.

"Well, yeah. You seem to have a penchant for heels." His eyes linger on the strappy, potential murder weapons she's currently balancing on. "I thought you could get 34 pairs in honour of your birthday but JARVIS suggested that may be overkill." He shrugs, as though this kind of gesture is commonplace in their relationship.

She's still struggling to catch up and gapes at him like a rather unattractive fish. He suddenly looks a little worried.

"It is your birthday tomorrow, right?" His dark, dark eyes have blown wide and she can see he's adding numbers and doing formulas in his head. She quickly puts a stop to it before he blows a blood vessel.

"Yeah it is. I just...I can't believe you remembered." She's touched. This is like a physical tap on the shoulder reminding her that she's the most important thing in his life; that, actually, he cares a great deal about her and her happiness. The bubble of pleasure that wells up in her is not entirely alien but she can't help the goofy smile that spreads across her lips.

"It's a date I'm fairly unlikely to forget, Potts."

She glances up at him and notes that his eyes have a far-away, glazed quality to them. It's like he's not seeing her at all, he's somewhere else completely. She feels, quite suddenly, isolated and realises that she will never really know what's going on in Tony Stark's head.

Her bubble bursts just as suddenly as it appeared and she's left feeling distinctly deflated when she realises what he's thinking about.

_Afghanistan. _

It's this unspoken thing between them that they don't mention it so she's surprised by his lack of etiquette. She hears him mutter something about _torture _and it feels like a blow to her stomach. A shudder worms up his spine and she feels her heart lurch at the sight. What ungodly torment is he reliving? What nightmare is running through his mind completely beyond her reach, her comprehension? She averts her eyes from what appears to be a very private moment all of his own design.

"Whatever happened to that dress?"

Pepper turns to stare at him like he's grown another head. All thoughts of giving up shopping and crawling under her duvet to cry rapidly dissolve in the wake of this complete conversation turnaround.

"What?" Her voice is a colourful explosion of confusion, befuddlement, patience and weariness.

"The _dress._"

His voice is liquid honey and she doesn't notice him sliding too close to her until it's too late. Her personal space is well and truly invaded and she blinks rapidly.

"I have _no idea _what you're talking about." The blush sneaking across her cheekbones indicates otherwise and Tony smirks.

"You know...blue, slinky, backless, sexy as-"

"Yes, thank you! Memory sufficiently jogged." Her interruption is sharp and pitched ever so slightly higher than her normal register. She pulls out her Blackberry to have something to distract her from the intoxicating scent of his cologne. "What about it?"

"Well, the payment for that came out of my account a year ago tomorrow." He watches as her fingers still over the keys of her PDA and notices the fluid movement of her throat as she swallows. "Unlikely to forget that dress and the reason I paid for it, Potts." He nudges her with his elbow to get her to look at him and is surprised to find her eyes positively _glowing. _There's a hint of feminine pride in her expression but, more than that, she just looks happy; in a way that he hasn't seen for far too many months. He smiles back at her and she breaks the connection by looking around the little boutique with childish joy creeping back into her eyes.

"So I can pick any pair I like?"

"Yes." Pepper moves to start shopping but his hand on her wrist prevents her from moving too far. "But I think I should at least give my opinion."

"Of course, Mr Stark."

And, as she stands and models shoes, he gives his opinion on each pair with a critical eye that misses no detail. His opinions become increasingly racy and then, to her concealed, girlish delight, positively naughty until, eventually, his opinion is more grunting and awkward shifting than anything of any real substance.

She thinks this may be one of her favourite birthday presents ever; knowing that Tony Stark can be affected by little, old Pepper Potts.

_~Fin._


End file.
